By Your Side
by gypsywriter135
Summary: "Don't go where I can't follow."


Birthday fic for Reidluver!

She wanted some brotherly nightmare hurt/comfort. I tried to focus more on Bolin, since he _is_ the one that's captured by the Equalists, but Mako apparently wanted some love at the end. Since he's my favorite, I kinda let him have it. So you get a double scoop of brothers, I guess...

Happy Birthday, hug buddy! :D I hope it's okay and that you like it!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! (And probably a lot of this will never happen in canon... Deal with it anyways.)**

* * *

Bolin shot up in bed, eyes wide and covered in cold sweat, breathing harshly. His green eyes, filled with confusion and terror, took in the unfamiliar room he was in, his shivering only decreasing when he realized where he was.

The Earthbender ran a still shaking hand over his face tiredly as the moon streamed through the window, lighting up the small room he was inhabiting at the Air Temple while he recovered from the Equalists attack.

It had been nearly a week since his brother and Korra had rescued him, Korra insisting that the two Pro-benders stay with her and Tenzin while Bolin recovered from his injuries. But Bolin's nightmares had only increased since then. Each night, they became worse and worse, too the point that Bolin refused to sleep, lest the horrid images play over and over on the inside of his eyelids whilst he dreamt.

Apparently, he had dozed off sometime during the night, against his better judgment.

Bolin sighed, glancing up at the moon. This was getting ridiculous. He needed to sleep. He _wanted_ to sleep. He was _safe_! He was on _Air Temple Island_ where no one could get him.

That still didn't help the flashing images that raced through his mind. Those lightening rods that sent painful electrical shocks racing through his body; he could still smell the scent of burning flesh. The cold, dank, dark cell that had been his home for eight days still clung to him in invisible grime that only he could feel. The screams of benders, his own screams, echoed in his ears, rattling his skull in such a way that it gave him a terrible headache.

Amon's masked face, inches from his own, sneering at him through his eyes. The mask would morph in ways that weren't possible, twisting and turning. Faces he had never met smirked at him, laughed at him, jeered, taunted, glared…

Blue flashes changed the scene to have the Equalist standing over him, white gas, but more liquid-like in structure – _how is that even possible?_ – flowing in his hands. Bolin looked down and saw a giant, gaping hole in his chest.

Evil laughter filled the room and he moved his hands to cover his ears, clenching his eyes shut. Amon's hand, holding his bending chi – _for what else could it be?_ – closed tightly around the substance. The white mist shuddered, and tears slipped out of the corners of Bolin's eyes as the chi flitted madly around a gloved hand, then flickered and died completely.

An empty feeling instantly formed in Bolin's chest, right above his heart, and he brought his legs up, touching his forehead to his knees, grasping fitfully at the wounded area under his white undershirt. The white bandages pulled tightly at his skin, and Bolin's breathing became more ragged.

Still more images flashed in front of his eyes; Korra facing Amon and falling as he takes away more than her bending. Mako screaming as blue lightening courses through his body before falling limp and slumping to the ground, amber eyes dull, the life drained out…

There was a shuffling outside the door, causing Bolin's head to snap up and to look, terrified, at the wooden structure.

A shadow was moving on the other side. Quickly, Bolin wiped his eyes and threw the covers back, quietly standing and making his way over to the door. He bended some rock into his hand, standing slightly to the side of the door, listening carefully.

It had to be them. They had found him. They were going to take him again; back to that cell, back to Amon. No… no, he wouldn't go. He had just gotten back, they weren't going to-

The person on the other side got closer, their feet dragging slightly, as if they were pacing, unsure. Bolin stiffened as the footsteps stopped right outside the door, before moving to the other side of the hall, only to come closer once more.

And that's when Bolin began to relax slightly, letting the rocks floating around his palm fall gently to the ground. He knew those movements.

When the person's round brought them back to the door, Bolin quickly opened the door, revealing a startled Mako.

The older Firebender's face went from surprise, to a mixture of embarrassment, confusion, worry, and relief.

"Mako…" Bolin said, frowning. "What are you doing?"

His older brother's mouth drew into a tight line and he shifted from foot to foot. "Uh…" he stammered. "I… uh…" he let his amber eyes roam over Bolin before snapping up to meet green ones. "Are you okay?"

Bolin shifted his gaze away, rubbing the back of his neck. He heard Mako sigh. "Couldn't sleep?"

Not surprised that the older man had known, Bolin shook his head. Mako had always been able to guess what was wrong with him; though, the fact that he looked like crap during the day probably didn't help much either.

"Can… can I come in?" Mako asked softly.

Bolin snorted, but turned around and headed back into his room, leaving the door open as a response. He could feel rather than hear Mako follow him slowly, closing the door quietly behind him. The younger of the two crawled into his bed, sitting with his back against the wall and his feet dangling over the other side. Mako sat down beside him, crossing his legs under him.

The two sat in silence for quite some time. Bolin was still tense, staring ahead as the moon moved slowly in the sky, casting eerie shadows on the walls and floor. His eyes caught a unnaturally dark one, the shape akin to a man, a hood over his head. Suddenly, the shadow ripped itself from the wall, a masked face swirling into focus in the figure. Bolin blinked his shut and shook his head. When he opened them again, Amon was standing right in front of his face, reaching down, hands glowing an odd white color and, _Spirits, it was happening! He was going to lose his bending! He was going to_-

"Bolin!"

Mako's shout made his eyes snap open and he whipped his head up to look at his brother; when had he fallen asleep? When had his brother moved? Mako was staring at him in deep worry, face only inches from his own, hands tightly gripping his shoulders.

"You with me, Bo?" Mako asked, eyes searching his Bolin's own for something.

It was the use of his old childhood nickname that caused Bolin to lose it; that familiarity, comforting, _safe_ feeling that had gotten Bolin through the toughest of times, his brother right beside him, looking after him, _protecting_ him, that made everything _so. Much. Better._

Tears once more spilled from green eyes and Bolin pitched forward, his forehead coming to rest on his brother's shoulder. He could feel Mako tense, then relax. Arms – long, strong, _safe_ arms – rose to wrap tightly around him. One hand threaded through his sweat-damp hair, pushing him closer to the other man, while the other rubbed small, soothing circles in his back. Bolin's own clutched tightly to the back of Mako's shirt.

"I see him everywhere, Mako," Bolin whispered. "He won't go away. He's in the shadows, he's…. spirits, he's in my head! He's haunting me, and every time I close my eyes, it only gets worse. I can't sleep because he's in my dreams, but it's so hard and I don't want to sleep but I keep doing it and he's _there_!"

"Shhh," Mako soothed, rubbing a thumb gently over a small patch on his head in a small, comforting manner. "It's okay, Bo. He's not here. You're safe. The only one here is me."

Bolin pressed his face harder into Mako's shoulder. "What if he comes back? He might come back…. I don't want to go back there, Mako…" The tears flowed harder down his face, his brother's shirt absorbing the liquid. "I can't go back there! What if he… spirits, what if he takes it away! I can't go back, can't go back, can't go back…"

"Bolin…" Mako gently pulled Bolin away from him, hands framing his face. "Bolin, look at me." He ran a thumb gently under Bolin's eyes, wiping the stray tears away, before Bolin met his gaze. Mako's eyes were hard and determined, but soft and understanding. "Nothing is going to happen to you," the Firebender told him. "_Nothing_. I will _never_ let something like that happen to you ever again. Amon is not going to get anywhere _near_ you." Mako's eyebrows rose up. "Do you understand me?"

Bolin stared at Mako, bottom lip trembling, as his brother watched him with determination. The Earthbender nodded, and Mako gave him a small smile, before pulling him back towards him, wrapping his arms around him once more.

He's not sure how long he sat like that, but Bolin didn't care. He just knew that when he reluctantly pulled away from Mako, he immediately missed his warmth; even in the coldest of winter nights on the streets, Mako had always been warm… safe… He smeared a hand over his face and sniffed softly. His brother shifted on the bed so that they were once more sitting next to each other, Mako making sure that their sides touched.

After a few minutes of silence, Bolin turned to Mako. "I got your shirt wet…" he muttered, voice hoarse.

Mako smiled gently. "That's okay. You can laundry this week."

Bolin frowned, making Mako chuckle.

Comfortable silence enveloped them once more, Bolin sniffling again. "What were you doing up?" he asked.

Mako shrugged, leaning his head back against the wall.

The Earthbender frowned once more. "Mako…"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Mako always did have a sixth sense when it came to Bolin.

"You were hesitating outside."

"I didn't know if you wanted me to barge in in the middle of the night."

"Why? Never stopped you before."

"Korra and Tenzin said that you needed space."

"And you believed them?"

"We've never dealt with something like this before."

"That still doesn't explain why you were up this late. I mean, having nightmares is a pretty good reason to be up in the middle of the night. You're never up this late."

Mako was silent. Bolin leaned forward. The older man's face was tightly pinched, frowning deeply.

"You've been having nightmares too," Bolin surmised.

Mako snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"That thing where you ignore the question until I stop asking."

"I don't do that."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Mako…"

The Firebender sighed. "Fine."

Bolin waited patiently; he knew from experience that rushing his brother only caused more problems.

"I haven't been able to sleep since this whole thing… happened," Mako muttered, eyes flicking to Bolin before darting to the side. "You… I… I just wanted…. You were gone for over a _week_, Bo…" Mako's voice shuddered slightly. "… _Eight days_… and I didn't… I didn't know if you…"

Mako's mouth opened and closed like a Koi fish before he scrambled off the bed and lunged for the wastebasket that was sitting on the floor near them. Bolin winced at the sounds of his brother being sick.

But he understood what Mako had been trying to say. They had lived nearly their entire lives together; the longest that they were ever away from each other was probably a day at most, and that was because they'd had to go separate parts of the city on errands for Toza. But never had they been apart for eight days.

And poor Bolin had been _kidnapped_. The entire time, Mako hadn't known what was happening to his brother, whether he was even alive or dead.

If that didn't give Mako, the person who had basically _raised_ Bolin, nightmares, then he didn't know what would.

That's the only reason Mako would never have been able to sleep.

Bolin watched as Mako spit into the can, grimacing at the putrid taste in his mouth. "Sorry…" he whispered.

"S'okay," Bolin murmured. He gave his brother a small smile. "That bad, huh?"

Mako returned to his previous seat beside the teen, closing his eyes. "Not as bad as yours, apparently."

"But bad enough," Bolin replied.

There was a pause. "It's gonna be a long night, isn't it…" Mako asked, more as a statement than a question.

Bolin shrugged. "Probably."

"I think Tenzin left the practice area unlocked," Mako suggested.

"Bro, you just puked," Bolin stated. "And in my room, might I add. Do you have any idea how horrid that's gonna smell in the morning?"

"Sorry," Mako grinned slightly, eyes slipping shut.

There was another pause. "Hey, Mako?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going anywhere…"

Mako cracked an eye open and looked down at Bolin. He sighed and lifted his head, rubbing at his face. "I know…" he muttered. "But I won't be able to rest easy until this whole thing is taken care of and I personally burn that hideous mask off Amon's face. And then I'm gonna zap him with those lightening rod things and see how much _he_ likes it."

Bolin smirked. "I'll hold him down. Just let me get in a few good jabs at him."

"Sure thing, bro. Anything for you."

And as the two of them chattered quietly throughout the rest of the night, both drifting off in the early hours of the morning, Mako's arm around Bolin and the teen's head resting on his brother's shoulder, Bolin knew that truer words had never been spoken.

* * *

I really hope that this was good enough... I'm not a real, deep writer, but this show is so deep!

Happy Birthday, Reidluver! You're awesome!


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